Today is the 15th anniversary of the Imia/Kardak Crisis where Turkey and Greece came very close to war. In my opinion (I know some Greeks and Turks might be angry about what I will just write), it was total bullshit. It was arranged by “Gun Salesmen” of two countries (of course we are talking about representatives of big weapon producers in Greece and Turkey).
It was just to create a tension so both countries will agree to buy more guns. Unfortunately, it worked.
But, in last 15 years – starting from this stupid pee-fight – something good also happened !
First, Turkey and Greece really started to talk. Before the crises, the business between two countries was close to zero. Yes, they were two neighbour countries with ZERO import/export. After the crises, now , just in Aegean coast the import/export is over than 5 million dollars. Greece bought banks and harbours in Turkey and Turkey opened bank branches in Greece.
Second, both countries have started to talk again. Not the politicians but “people” have started to communicate.
In 2010, WikiLeaks has published many official documents on internet. Here is the USA report on Imea/Kardak. I just wanted to share it today… It starts like this:
On December 25, 1995, a Turkish cargo ship went aground on a small, uninhabited,
rocky islet, about 10 acres in size, that Greeks call Imia and Turks call Kardak.
Previously, no nation’s flag flew there and no military forces were present. The ship’s
captain initially refused assistance from Greece because, he said, the islet was Turkish.
The mayor of a neighboring Greek island raised his national flag on Imia. Turkey’s
Foreign Ministry addressed a note to the Embassy of Greece, asserting that the islet was
Turkish. Greece rejected the claim.
Greek and Turkish media trumpeted the incident later in January. On January 28,
Turkish journalists landed on the islet, lowered a Greek flag, and hoisted a Turkish
standard. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry disapproved of the journalists’ action and called for
problems to be solved through diplomatic channels. Athens protested to the Turkish
ambassador, saying that Imia was Greek. Later that day, Greek Navy commandos lowered
the Turkish flag and restored that of Greece. Greek Prime Minister Konstandinos Simitis
warned, “Our response to this and any other aggressive nationalism … will be strong,